Can Wendel Clark get back to shape?

Wendel Clark is one Toronto Maple Leaf star that I, along with millions of other fans, will never forget. His sock-'em rock-'em style made for exciting hockey.

It's unfortunate he's no longer part of the team, but even more unfortunate is that he claims to be fighting another problem, the battle of the bulge.

He won't win unless he changes his current routine and follows some rules.

Rule No. 1 - Start eating breakfast!

He says his first meal of the day is after lunchtime. His reason? If he eats in the morning he eats all day. But skipping breakfast has never been a good idea. What Wendel needs is a bowl full of bran and fruit. A high fibre breakfast fills the stomach, slows the time food leaves it and diminishes the hunger reflex. Studies show that those who follow a high fibre diet gain fewer pounds, are less likely to suffer from constipation, the irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulitis (small hernias in the colon) and heart disease.

Rule No. 2 - Stop eating desserts!

His Waterloo is desserts. He admits loving all of them. But they're loaded with calories. If he seriously wants to lose weight he must learn it's "calories, calories, calories." Wendel's idea of following a vegetable diet is carrot cake, zucchini bread and sweet potato pie! No wonder his photo shows visceral fat, a recipe for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Abdominal fat cells are the first to increase in size as we pile on pounds and fortunately the first to decrease in size with a decrease in caloric intake. Wendel cannot beat obesity without foregoing high calorie desserts.

Rule No. 3 - Do the math!

Remember that eating 500 more calories a day than you burn up is the best recipe for obesity. Do this for seven days and 3,500 calories equals one pound. So don't eat packaged foods as they're packed full of sugar, salt and calories. Check the number of calories per serving to see how packaged foods cause obesity.

Rule No. 4 - Use the Tap Test if you can't say no

The prestigious Mayo Clinic, not one to preach nonsense, says research shows that if you spread your fingers and tap on your head 50 times, the urge to eat a dessert passes.

Rule No. 5 - Wendel, stick to moderate exercise!

Wendel says he no longer enjoys hard exercise since retiring from hockey, but still works out in his home gym, lifts weights and gets cardio exercise on the treadmill. It's a sound maintenance program. But studies show that exercise, a good routine to keep in shape, does not result in significant weight loss. Abraham Lincoln was right. He said his two best doctors were his left leg and his right leg. Brisk walking, bicycling and swimming top the list for beneficial exercise with less chance of injury. A Canadian study showed that 75% of elite athletes had scarring of the heart muscle due to excessive exercise.

Rule No. 6 - Step on the scale morning and night

Patients always look surprised when I suggest this to them. But this routine quickly shows a small weight gain, a fair warning to shed these pounds before more accumulate.

Rule No. 7 - Give yourself a reward each day!

To make dieting easier, award yourself a 100-calorie beer at day's end. It's much healthier than a soft drink loaded with 8 teaspoons of sugar or any of your favourite desserts. Besides, over 20 studies show that moderate drinkers live longer than teetotalers or excessive drinkers.

Rule No. 8 - Wendel, remember the Earl of Darby's remark, "If you don't take time for wellness now, you'll need plenty of time for sickness later on."

Rule No. 9 - Take vitamin C and lysine daily!

Research shows that 6,000 milligrams of C and 2,000 milligrams of lysine daily can reverse atherosclerosis in coronary arteries and will help to prolong your life.

Rule No. 10 - Please find a way to clone yourself to end the current miseries of the Toronto Maple leafs.